Vintages

My Wines

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Deux Amis, French for "two friends", is a partnership between two friends, Phyllis Zouzounis and Jim Penpraze. Six years of working together in the wine industry with many a late night relaxing over a glass of Zinfandel after a long day on the crush pad, found the two friends envisioning their own winery. The dream became a reality with the 1987 harvest. That year, Deux Amis produced one hundre... Read more

Deux Amis, French for "two friends", is a partnership between two friends, Phyllis Zouzounis and Jim Penpraze. Six years of working together in the wine industry with many a late night relaxing over a glass of Zinfandel after a long day on the crush pad, found the two friends envisioning their own winery. The dream became a reality with the 1987 harvest. That year, Deux Amis produced one hundred cases of Zinfandel from one vineyard in the Dry Creek Valley. Today, Jim and Phyllis produce over 1500 cases of wine from grapes grown in Sonoma County's Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys.
Deux Amis specialized in producing outstanding Zinfandels. It is the varietal that comes with the stamp of Sonoma County firmly imprinted upon it. A small amount of Petite Sirah is blended into Deux Amis Zinfandel for added depth and complexity.
Jim and Phyllis have always believed that fine wines are made in the vineyard. Grapes are purchased from small, carefully selected vineyards in the Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys and are used to produce the Sonoma County Zinfandel. Because one of these vineyards consistently produces such luscious Zinfandel, in 1995 Deux Amis began producing the vineyard designated Rued Vineyard Zinfandel.
Also in 1995, Deux Amis added Petite Sirah to its bottle offerings. The fruit comes from the Vyborny Vineyard in Alexander Valley. The positive responses of those who sampled this delicious wine from the barrel convinced us to bottle a small amount of Petite Sirah separately.
Harvesting generally commences in September and runs through October. Once the grapes are received at the winery they are crushed into open topped fermenters that hold from one-half to five tons. During fermentation the grapes are punched down three times daily for optimum flavor and color extraction. Following a 7-10 day fermentation, the wine is pressed into stainless steel tanks where it is allowed to briefly settle before being racked into small oak barrels.
The Sonoma County Zinfandel ages for one year in barrels with periodic rackings that help clarify and develop the wine. The Rued Zinfandel and Petite Sirah are barrel aged for 16-18 months. After bottling the wines are allowed to age in the bottle for several months before they are released. Read less